Why did subject and style in art change so dramatically over the course of the 19th century — from Madame Recamier, by Jacques-Louis David (1800) to Luxe, Calme et Volupte by Matisse (1904)? We’ll look for an explanation through a combination of art analysis and philosophical detection.
Artistic trends are not the result of a collective consciousness working its will. Such trends are simply the styles that a majority of artists chooses to embrace. Each of those artists, in turn, makes his own choice of style. Over the 19th century, France was the epicenter of artistic change. We briefly survey the works of 18 French artists, including Neoclassicists, Romantics, Naturalists, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, Pointillists, Symbolists, and Academics. Then we look at what these artists (as well as a few influential art critics) have to say about four crucial issues: the role of training; the role of reason vs. emotion in creating art; the importance of style vs. subject; and qualifications for judging art. Finally we see how these statements relate to the philosophical context of the time.
Содержание
Copyright, Credits, Acknowledgements. 2
Copyright & Permission. 2
Cover. 2
Acknowledgments. 2
Table of Contents. 3
1. Introduction.. 5
1.1 The Nineteenth-Century Context. 6
1.2 Enlightenment Ideas and the Philosophy of Kant. 7
1.3 Writings of 19th-Century French Painters. 8
2. Prelude: The Academy and the Salon.. 10
3. Neoclassicism… 11
3.1 Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) 11
3.2 Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) 17
3.3 Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1875) 21
4. Romanticism… 27
4.1 Baron Antoine-Jean Gros (1771-1835) 28
4.2 Théodore Géricault (1791-1824) 29
4.3 Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863) 34
4.4 Charles Pierre Baudelaire (1821-1867), art critic. 40
4.5 Summary of Romanticism.. 43
5. Naturalism… 48
5.1 Introduction. 48
5.2 Jean-Francois Millet (1814-1875) 51
5.3 Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) 53
5.4 John Ruskin (1819-1900), art critic. 57
6. Summary of Artists on Art to the 1860s. 60
6.1 Training. 60
6.2 Reason and emotions. 60
6.3 Style and subject. 60
6.4 Judging art. 61
7. Transition.. 62
7.1 Edouard Manet (1832-1883) 62
7.2 Emile Zola (1840-1902): Manet’s Promoter. 70
8. Impressionism… 72
8.1 Introduction. 72
8.2 Claude Monet (1840-1926) 74
8.3 Edgar Degas (1834-1917) 79
8.4 Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) 82
8.5 Summary of Manet and Impressionism.. 83
9. Post-Impressionism… 85
9.1 Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) 85
9.2 Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) 91
9.3 Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) 92
10. Pointillism… 95
10.1 Georges Seurat (1859-1891) 95
11. Symbolism… 97
11.1 Gustave Moreau (1826-1898) 97
12. Academic Painters. 102
12.1 Introduction. 102
12.2 William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) 102
13. Conclusion: Art and Philosophy. 105
13.1 The Proper Definition of Art, and Art’s Purpose. 106
13.2 An Artist’s Training. 111
13.3 Reason, Emotions, and Art. 113
13.4 Style and Subject. 115
13.5 Judging Art. 117
13.6 Hope for the Future. 118
14. Illustrations. 120
15. About the Author, Dianne L. Durante 136